Chapter 6

Jackie Littrell was scheming. She was scheming up a huge birthday bash for her younger son. She wanted to see him smile again, and she had planned out the who, where, and how of the surprise party. She simply needed help with decorations. Which is why she found herself pulling up to Sienna’s Flowers. One of the women she worked with at St. Joseph’s had recommended the business to her, and she was here to inspect. While she had thought the flower arrangement Brian had bought her for her birthday was quite lovely, she wanted to make sure.

Sienna looked over at the woman, who walked in, while she put out the fresh daffodils she had managed to procure from another, more successful greenhouse. Just as she dismissed the woman, she caught sight of her face and froze. It had to be her. It couldn’t be anyone but her. Brian’s mother.

“Hello, may I help you?” Sienna asked cheerfully as she walked over to the woman.

Jackie looked at Sienna and smiled approvingly. “Actually, I came in to ask if you made special arrangements for large banquet halls. I’m planning a party and need someone to decorate for me. With flowers.”

Sienna frowned. “I’ve never decorated a venue before. But I’m not averse to trying new things. Tell me about the place.”

Jackie began to explain that she had booked a hall in The Gardens, an exclusive club whose uniqueness came from the fact that each hall was full of grass and lovely Grecian columns. All that was needed was the flower arrangement that a renter would provide. So, in this case, Jackie needed someone who would know which flowers to use and be able to twine arrangements around the columns and on every table.

Sienna listened with growing interest. The place sounded interesting and could prove to be a challenge. She had always loved challenges.

“Yes,” she said immediately, when Jackie asked if she would be interested in decorating.

Jackie smiled. “I was hoping you’d agree because I absolutely adored that arrangement my son bought from you several months ago. And, I like the variety you have. It’s incredible.” She leaned over to smell the scent of the honeysuckle bush sitting next to the counter. “Like I said, I like your variety.”

“Thank you,” Sienna replied. “If you need an estimate, we can visit The Gardens together. I can pitch you ideas on the flowers I could use, and you can give me feedback. From there, I can give you an approximate estimate of how much this will cost. Oh, by the way, when is this event going to happen?”

“February 20,” Jackie replied. “I was hoping that, since I’m telling you a month and a half in advance, you’ll still be able to do it.”

“Oh no, that’s no problem. I just need to check my schedule,” Sienna replied as she dug out her planner and consulted it. She looked up at Jackie and smiled, “Nope. February 20^th will be no problem.”

“Wonderful. Let’s get started, shall we?”

February twentieth had arrived. After a month and a half of working with Jackie on flowers and flower designs, the two women had bonded. Jackie had surprisingly good taste for a woman who rarely puttered around the garden, as she had put it. She had also informed Sienna that the party was to be a surprise birthday bash for Brian. He would be coming home for the first time since July, and she wanted to see her son happy again. Sienna agreed that it was a good idea, especially as most of the people invited were close family and friends. She had wished to be invited, then realized that it would probably be a bad move, so decided against it. Until the week before the event, when Jackie called her.

“Sienna, darling,” Jackie greeted her. “I nearly forgot to tell you! I want you to be there next week.”

Somewhat confused, Sienna had replied, “But I will be there. I’m decorating, Jackie, remember?”

“No, no, no! I mean, I want you there at the party. You’ve been such a help, and I think I’d like you to properly meet my son, too,” Jackie was enthusiastic. Sienna had finally worn down and agreed to come.

Which was why she was pulling on the quiet green dress and pinning on jewelry, while muttering about not wanting to see Brian.

“Oh, buck up, pal,” Livvy grinned. “You’ve been wanting to see him again. Admit it. You really didn’t need all that cajoling, did you?”

Sienna sighed. “Okay, no. But still. He probably won’t even remember me. Last time he saw me, I was wearing a tank top and grungy sweatpants. Now look at me.”

“He’ll remember you,” Livvy said definitely. Then pushed Sienna out the door. “Don’t come back until after midnight, Cinderella!”

Brian picked up his bags from baggage claim and made his way towards the exit. He sincerely hoped this trip would be better than the last one. He didn’t want to hear about how he lost Leighanne and could have done better. Relax, he told himself. Mom won’t want a repeat, either. Don’t worry about it.

Spotting his father, Brian made his way through the flow of people to where his father stood.

“Hey Dad,” Brian greeted him with a hug. They pulled back to look at each other.

“My goodness,” Harold said, “each time I see you, you seem to get younger, while your old man gets older.”

Brian grinned. “You just can’t see my anti-wrinkle device. It’s hidden really well.”

Harold shook his head then swung an arm around his son’s shoulders. “Let’s get going. Your mom’s anxious to see you. I just have to make a quick stop first, though.”

“Oh, yeah? Where?” Brian wondered.

“Oh, The Gardens. Your mother wants to have the next St. Joseph’s fundraiser there, and I need to stop by and pick up some information,” Harold replied nonchalantly.

Brian nodded. “Sounds good.”

He settled down in his seat and closed his eyes, as he listened to his dad hum along to the oldies station. And, suddenly, the past seven months of hell disappeared.

When he had left Sienna’s Flowers that night, he had gone home and found his mother waiting for him. They had talked about the situation and agreed to disagree. The rest of his stay, he had run into old family friends, then his own friends from high school. He had spent a couple nights at the bar, desperately wanting to get drunk but not being able to because AJ would pop into his mind and stop him. When he’d left Lexington, he’d felt better about his life, but then, everything went downhill.

Watching Nick’s album release and the not-so-great reviews and sales from it had depressed him, so he had tried to call Nick, only to find out that the number had changed. He had tried calling AJ to get Nick’s number, but AJ had been out every time he’d called. He and Sarah, his fiancée, had been busy with wedding preparations, and then they’d postponed them, although Brian had no idea why. Howie had been busy when Brian tried calling him, and the closest he’d come to talking to him was Howie’s office secretary.

His life had crashed sometime in October when he’d finally realized that he had just failed at life. God had given him an incredible family, and, through his selfishness, Brian had destroyed it. He had spent hours talking to his therapist, who had finally thrown up his hands and said, “Brian, you need to give everyone time and space. The five of you lived in each other’s pockets for ten years! Time is the best answer I can give you, right now.”

But, he couldn’t live with that, and he’d stopped going to his therapist in December. Christmas had been hard because he had decided to stay in Atlanta, and he’d seen Leighanne at the mall when he’d been shopping. She had been with Daniel and looked radiant—and very pregnant. He had envied them and all the other families he’d seen around him. When was he going to find his? Brian often wondered. Then, he figured God was going to punish him for quite a while, and he’d just have to deal with it.

He’d also spent several nights thinking about Sienna, the flower shop owner he’d spent hours talking to on the day he’d met her. He’d worn down the paper that held her number and often contemplated calling her. Then, he’d remember she had a boyfriend, friends, family, and a business, and he didn’t fit in there with any of it, so he hadn’t called her.

Brian opened his eyes when the car stopped. They had arrived at the Gardens. Harold insisted that Brian come inside, too, but Brian shook his head and told Harold he was too tired, but Harold insisted, and Brian finally relented.

As they walked towards the entrance, Harold pulled out his cell phone and called Jackie.

“Hey hon. I just wanted to let you know that Brian and I are about to walk into The Gardens. We’ll be home in a bit, okay? Uh-huh. Okay. I love you, too,” and he hung up.

As Harold led him down a winding corridor, Brian had to ask, “Dad? Where are we going?”

“Here,” Harold answered, pushing open a door and nearly shoving his son in first.

“SURPRISE!” close to a hundred people shouted.

Brian simply stared for a few seconds, then a smile broke out on his face. Jackie smiled as she saw it and hurried forward to envelop him in a hug.

“Happy Birthday, little duck,” she whispered in his ear.

Brian pulled back and grinned. “I love you, Mom. This is incredible!”

He looked around at all the decorations and the people that were coming up and congratulating him. There were friends he hadn’t seen in a few years, cousins, Aunt Anne, Kevin’s mother, and several others. Then, he noticed Kevin standing with his wife, Kristin, in a corner.

Kevin. The one person he felt he’d let down more than any other was his cousin, Kevin. Kevin had been there for him and the other Boys, even at times when he’d been going through rough things. Kevin had stuck Brian into the therapist’s office after listening to Brian wrestle with his pain for months. He had broken down AJ’s hotel room door in order to stop AJ’s drug and alcohol addiction. He’d put his everything into the Boys, and then Brian had wrecked it all in one, single hour. Shaking off the burgeoning depression he turned back to the people who were talking to him.

“Excuse me,” he said to one of his father’s friends, “I need to go see someone real quick. Thank you for coming!”

He made his way over to where Kevin and Kristin stood.

Kristin stepped forward and hugged him. “Happy Birthday, Brian! It’s been a while since I’ve seen you! You look good,” she added.

“Thanks, Kris. Thanks for coming. Both of you,” he added with a grateful look directed at Kevin.

Kevin shrugged. “I thought it might be a good idea to come and see everyone. Plus, Kris had a break, so we decided to show up.”

Kristin glared at him, then shook her head. “We’re thrilled to be here. It’s been great seeing everyone.”

“Yeah,” Brian agreed, a bit disheartened by his cousin’s mood. Then again, he reminded himself, it’s not as though he had done anything to elicit a better response. He had pretty much, single-handedly, broken up the group. “I’ll be back to talk to y’all, but I have to go see some other people, too.”

Kristin nodded while her husband simply shrugged and disappeared into the crowd of cousins.

“Don’t mind him,” Kristin murmured, apologetically. “He’s just been going through some stuff. He’ll come around.”

Brian nodded then made his way through the crowd to see his brother and sister-in-law.

***

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